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Win-win result as goods, services trialed for free
By Chen Ye |
March 11, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
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COMPANIES are making smarter use of "free" offers of their products for trial by customers who provide valuable feedback in exchange but also talk about them on the Internet, Chen Ye reports.
Hangzhou resident Shen Yan couldn't let the chance pass by when she found the offer from a leading hotel posted on the Internet.
"Hyatt Regency Hangzhou Hotel is now looking for six people to experience and comment on afternoon tea buffet service for free," it said.
"The first thing that came to mind was that an afternoon tea buffet at the Hyatt is really expensive, costing around 200 yuan (US$29)," says Shen.
"So I told myself, don't let this glorious chance pass by," she says commenting on being selected for the "free" sample.
One female Netizen was luckier than Shen because she not only won a chance to stay in a luxury villa for free but also had free Qiandao Lake sightseeing on a yacht.
"Free shark's fin soup, free yacht, free luxury villa. When I read this on the Internet, I was shocked and wondered if it was possible to enjoy everything with zero payment," says the woman who refused to give her name.
"There was a quota of four winners and each one was able to bring a partner. So I tried it for fun, never thinking I had a chance to win," she says.
When the woman and her husband drove to Qiandao Lake, they were shocked by the magnificent villa.
"It looked like a sumptuous castle set up on the mountain top, and we were so excited to be spending a night in this one-level, 700-square-meter villa with a swimming pool," she says.
"It was awesome, because there were several household staff and waiters dressed in uniform serving us during dinner."
One restaurant manager is impressed by the feedback he gets from such "free" promotion activity.
"We are now planning to regularly recruit anonymous customers who can write a report on the experience. We would pay them money and also provide free food," he tells Xinmin Evening News.
With a new restaurant opening next month, the management would learn more about the service and food standards they propose, the manager says.
More shops and marketers are investing time and money in so-called "freegans" to get independent market feedback about their products.
The catch for people enjoying "free" goods and services is that their assessment of the experience and feedback has to be provided immediately afterwards.
For example, Shen had to comment on the "free" Hyatt afternoon tea buffet she experienced.
But how could one short sentence or one report which may contain unfavorable comment become the voucher to pay for such unique experiences the customer may never be able to afford?
"Through this activity, we hope people will get to know more about our afternoon tea buffet service," says Theresa Zhang, marketing manager of Hyatt Hangzhou, which partnered with koubei.com in the promotion.
"The reason we chose koubei.com as our activity partner is because we can get comments immediately, and koubei.com has major influence," she says.
The hotel will do more free experience events in the future, she says.
Jiang Qingyun, professor of Fudan University, says free experience activity is an efficient promotion method for stores and sellers.
"Due to fierce marketing competition, stores and sellers need more attractive promotion methods to help differentiate them from others," says Jiang.
"Free experience marketing is a new trend," the professor says. "From an economics point of view, by using free experience trials, customers can make a better decision and avoid disappointment."
The "free" research activity also generates more word-of-mouth promotion as well as through the Internet.
Nowadays people rely more on the Internet to learn about goods and services, and prefer choosing shops and restaurants according to the recommendations of people who've been there.
On the other hand, however, some people may suspect the "free" offers are set-ups.
People involved in the offers say there are some basic conditions people need to satisfy before they qualify for "freebies."
First, none of the candidates should be selected by the stores or marketers, but the neutral third party.
Second, the candidates should be popular users of the Internet who regular update their comments.
Finally, there should be limited chances for people who regularly participate in such "free" product deals.
Hangzhou resident Shen Yan couldn't let the chance pass by when she found the offer from a leading hotel posted on the Internet.
"Hyatt Regency Hangzhou Hotel is now looking for six people to experience and comment on afternoon tea buffet service for free," it said.
"The first thing that came to mind was that an afternoon tea buffet at the Hyatt is really expensive, costing around 200 yuan (US$29)," says Shen.
"So I told myself, don't let this glorious chance pass by," she says commenting on being selected for the "free" sample.
One female Netizen was luckier than Shen because she not only won a chance to stay in a luxury villa for free but also had free Qiandao Lake sightseeing on a yacht.
"Free shark's fin soup, free yacht, free luxury villa. When I read this on the Internet, I was shocked and wondered if it was possible to enjoy everything with zero payment," says the woman who refused to give her name.
"There was a quota of four winners and each one was able to bring a partner. So I tried it for fun, never thinking I had a chance to win," she says.
When the woman and her husband drove to Qiandao Lake, they were shocked by the magnificent villa.
"It looked like a sumptuous castle set up on the mountain top, and we were so excited to be spending a night in this one-level, 700-square-meter villa with a swimming pool," she says.
"It was awesome, because there were several household staff and waiters dressed in uniform serving us during dinner."
One restaurant manager is impressed by the feedback he gets from such "free" promotion activity.
"We are now planning to regularly recruit anonymous customers who can write a report on the experience. We would pay them money and also provide free food," he tells Xinmin Evening News.
With a new restaurant opening next month, the management would learn more about the service and food standards they propose, the manager says.
More shops and marketers are investing time and money in so-called "freegans" to get independent market feedback about their products.
The catch for people enjoying "free" goods and services is that their assessment of the experience and feedback has to be provided immediately afterwards.
For example, Shen had to comment on the "free" Hyatt afternoon tea buffet she experienced.
But how could one short sentence or one report which may contain unfavorable comment become the voucher to pay for such unique experiences the customer may never be able to afford?
"Through this activity, we hope people will get to know more about our afternoon tea buffet service," says Theresa Zhang, marketing manager of Hyatt Hangzhou, which partnered with koubei.com in the promotion.
"The reason we chose koubei.com as our activity partner is because we can get comments immediately, and koubei.com has major influence," she says.
The hotel will do more free experience events in the future, she says.
Jiang Qingyun, professor of Fudan University, says free experience activity is an efficient promotion method for stores and sellers.
"Due to fierce marketing competition, stores and sellers need more attractive promotion methods to help differentiate them from others," says Jiang.
"Free experience marketing is a new trend," the professor says. "From an economics point of view, by using free experience trials, customers can make a better decision and avoid disappointment."
The "free" research activity also generates more word-of-mouth promotion as well as through the Internet.
Nowadays people rely more on the Internet to learn about goods and services, and prefer choosing shops and restaurants according to the recommendations of people who've been there.
On the other hand, however, some people may suspect the "free" offers are set-ups.
People involved in the offers say there are some basic conditions people need to satisfy before they qualify for "freebies."
First, none of the candidates should be selected by the stores or marketers, but the neutral third party.
Second, the candidates should be popular users of the Internet who regular update their comments.
Finally, there should be limited chances for people who regularly participate in such "free" product deals.
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